A vision of hope
by Annster
Summary: Ron, Harry and Hermione's 7th year at Hogwarts, from the moment they take the Hogwarts Express to the final battle with Voldemort... R/H and H/G
1. The first day

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A/N : This is my first fic, and none of those characters are mine. I just borrowed them to JKR for the occasion. Thanks to my great beta-readers, Ellster and Delster, my sidekicks and lobsters sisters, and Shantal, my long lost twin.

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"For yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow is only a vision, but today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope."

~Unknown 

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Chapitre 1 : The First Day 

Hermione Granger was looking through the window of the train, eyes passing across the landscape that she knew too well. It was the seventh time that she was taking the Hogwarts Express to the best wizardry school in the world –and it would also be the last time. Seventh year already… She remembered how enthusiastic and cheerful she had been the first time she took it, how wonderful it had been to get to platform 9 and ¾ for the very first time. She had been feeling unique, leaving her boring Muggle existence for an extraordinary magic life. She had always felt the same way every time she took the Hogwarts Express to reach the school. Until her fourth year… 

That year should have been one of the best of her time at Hogwarts because of events such as the triwizard tournament and her very first ball, but it had turned out to be a nightmare : the triwizard tournament ended up with the second rising of the most powerful dark wizard in the world, Lord Voldemort, and the Yule Ball… well, the ball was a disaster. 

Hermione closed her eyes. How could she have been thinking of such small things as the ball when so many people have had died? If she did the analysis of her years at Hogwarts, the obtaining was that most of the time had been dangerous and painful. During the first year she had been almost killed by a troll and eaten by a three-headed dog. The second year wasn't safer : she had been petrified for weeks. Let's not forget the third year, when a certain rat was revealed to be a dangerous criminal. The infamous fourth year: Cedric Diggory died during the tournament and Voldemort came back to life physically. Not long after that, in the fifth year came the first attack on Hogwarts, where Susan Bones, Lee Jordan, Frank Delanoe were killed and five other students were badly injured; one of them, Cynthia Payne, was still in a coma. During the sixth year was the battle between the Death Eaters and the Aurors, that left twelve casualties, and the second attack on Hogwarts partly destroyed the Ravenclaw tower. Carl McGraw and Kessie Loin died in the explosion. _Five students died, a part of the school has had been destroyed, so many were wounded_. Those successions of disasters and tragedies made Hermione think that her Muggle existence wasn't boring at all but peaceful. And all she longed for was peace. 

'What will happen this year?' she wondered. It seemed to her that now that chaos and fear ruled this world again, the present was a gift.

"Oi, Hermione!" 

Hermione was snapped out of her thoughts by the familiar voice. She looked up and she saw Ron Weasley, with all his freckles that she knew by heart and his red hair that she would recognize among thousands of people, grinning at her. "You looked like you were in Binn's class, 'Mione. Looked very bored," he giggled devilishly. 

"She looked rather worried," Harry said. She looked at him. Harry Potter had the same green eyes behind the small pair of round glasses, the same messy hair with the scar on the forehead as the first time she met him. The only slight difference in him was the blurry shade of gloom in his eyes, barely noticeable for everyone who met him but undeniable for those who knew him by heart. 

"I'm OK Harry," Hermione replied softly. "There's nothing to worry about. I was just… reminiscing the past. I was thinking about the first time I took the Hogwarts Express and how I met you guys in it." 

"You were in it?" Ron said. "Ooooh, so YOU were that annoying long-teethed and bushy-haired girl that said my spell was crappy?" He laughed hysterically and Harry followed him in his laughter. Hermione tried to look outraged but couldn't help smiling. 

"You prat." She punched him in the arm and Ron pretended to be wounded. 

"Harry! Help! No, run, she's gone mad again! Come on, let's apparate to Hogwarts!" 

"Ron! How many times do I have to tell you that no one can…" 

"…APPARATE IN OR OUT OF HOGWARTS!" shouted the two boys together, laughing hard. 

"It's written in chapter 6, paragraph 3…" Ron started, trying to recover from his laughing. 

"… of _Hogwarts, a History_, third edition!" Harry finished. Both burst into a new wave of laughter, almost rolling on the floor. 

"Ouch! Cramp! Cramp!" Harry said between laughs. 

Hermione looked at them, smiling. Ron and Harry were her two best friends in the world. They were even more than her friends, they were everything for her. Her greatest fear was to lose them, so she wouldn't let anything happen to them. 

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Tomorrow is a mystery.

She watched them laugh. 

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Today is a gift… 

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"Here we go. Hogwarts." 

They got off of the train and went their way to the school by the lake. Harry saw Hagrid waving to him from his group of first years. They all expected the number of new students to be very low this year, with all the dramatic events –it would have been natural for the parents to fear for their children's lives after the death of five students during the past two years. But it seemed like the number of new students didn't drop at all. The parents, after a period when they were influenced by Cornelius Fudge, were distrusting Hogwarts and Dumbledore. But the recent attacks and death of families of wizards all over England made the parents believe that maybe their children were safer in a fortress like Hogwarts. 

The trio arrived soon at the Castle, and joined their Gryffindor companions at the Gryffindor table. There were all the familiar faces that had become dear to them through the years and the battles : Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, Colin and Dennis Creevey. And Ginny Weasley. 

She stood up when she saw them coming and waved. 

"Hey guys! You're so slow. We took the same train and you guys are fifteen minutes late." 

"That wasn't a race, Gin," Ron replied, grumbling. 

"And that was fortunate for you, 'cause I would have beaten you easily." 

"You wouldn't even dare think about it, little girl." 

"You wanna bet, giant prat?" 

"What do you think we are doing, Ginger?"

Ginny smiled at her brother. Unlike Hermione, she didn't have a passion for those banters with Ron, though she adored him. She knew exactly when to stop before it would turn into a fight where one of the Weasleys might lose all his or her hair. 

"You know I love you Ron, and that you're my favorite brother?" she said, with her brightest smile. Ron suddenly stopped laughing and looked shocked. 

"Erm…thanks. I like you…too" he managed to mutter, his face turning as red as his hair.

Ginny grinned at Hermione and winked at Harry before turning her attention back to her sixth-year classmates at the table. Ron was still very red and Hermione was laughing softly, she turned to Ron and said some soft words that Harry couldn't hear. But Harry wasn't paying attention to them anyway. He was looking at Ginny thoughtfully. 

It had been months since they last saw each other and she had grown up a lot since. The blushing and giggling little girl whom he had met on platform 9 and ¾ six years earlier became had become a beautiful girl with poise and self-confidence. She never blushed in his presence anymore, and seemed to consider him a friend and not as a hero to worship anymore. Her hair was long and perfectly curly to the tips. Harry knew that he wasn't the only one who noticed her physical changes because most of the boys were turning on her way. Darn. It was stupid to feel weird about Ginny growing up, everyone has had to get older sooner or later. 

Harry shook his head and decided to look another way, and his glance fell on the Slytherin table. Since the rising of Voldermort, a lot of Slytherin students' parents became Death Eaters again and took their children off out of Hogwarts. There were empty places here and there at the Slytherin table and they were very quiet. Suddenly Harry realized that someone was missing at that table. 

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Draco Malfoy.

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**A/N** : the credit for the sentence about the present being a gift goes to Ashlie who wrote it in her wonderful fic _Brief Interlude_


	2. Such stuff as dreams

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Chap 2 : Such stuff as dreams

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"We are such stuff as dreams are made on

And our little life is rounded with a sleep"

~Shakespeare

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Ron felt tired that night when he came upstairs to the Gryffindor common room. 

The trip on the Hogwarts Express had been fun like usual, with all the candies that Harry and himself had bought and eaten. This was like a tradition since the first year : Harry always bought the whole pack of candies and watched Ron eat most of them. They did that every year, and every year they had fun with all the candies. 

The sorting hat ceremony ended up with cheers from all tables and the dinner had been one of the best ever. But though everyone was supposed to be cheerful, he had sensed that something was wrong with his two best friends : Harry kept glancing at the Slytherin table and was oddly silent all night and Hermione… well, she didn't talk about the N.E.W.T.s or the classes, or the homework to do yet, so something must be really bugging her. And he thought that she had been unusually mild to him today : she hadn't lectured him at all as she always did, and she had whispered some compliments in his ear after his bickering with Ginny. Well, if one considered that remark about the face color matching the hair color a compliment indeed… Ron decided that he would go talk to Harry tonight, and would spy on Hermione the morning after. 

"Password, please?" He was standing in front of the Fat Lady. 

"Oh, you're the youngest Weasley boy. It is your seventh year here, isn't it?" 

"Yes, ma'am." 

"Well, try not to get yourself in too much trouble, boy. I remember that you and your two friends have the bad habit to get yourselves into trouble every year." 

"Oh, don't worry, we always survived," said Ron, grinning. Was the Fat Lady worried about him? 

"Well, don't hurt yourself too much then." 

"Don't count on it. I will probably get myself in danger again, get almost killed and a beautiful lady will come rescue me". He laughed. 

"Hmm, youth today… Password, please." 

"_Gloubi-bouga_" 

She let him enter the common room, which he did, still laughing. 

"What is so fun?" 

That was Hermione. 

Ron stopped laughing and looked at her for awhile, an indescribable expression on his face. Then he turned away and said, "Nothing, just the Fat Lady and I having a little conversation…" 

"Oh," was her reply. The common room was empty... 

"What are you doing in here alone, Hermione?" 

"Oh, just some reading, you know…" She showed the book that she was reading _Hogwarts, a History_. What a surprise, thought Ron, amused. 

"And what were YOU doing in the castle?" asked Hermione softly. 

"Oh, I just took some fresh air, went to the kitchen, whipped a house elf or two, you know…" Ron replied, grinning at her. 

"Seriously, Ron." The seriousness of Hermione's air struck Ron, who stopped grinning. 

"I was just out to have some fresh air, Hermione, that's all." He suddenly remembered that something was bugging her and that he wanted to know what it was. 

"Hermione, what's wrong?" 

She looked at him with the mouth slightly open but no words were spoken. She turned away and sighed softly. 

"Ron, I have this bad feeling…like something is going to happen." 

"Hermione…" 

"I know this is stupid, but with all the things that happened with Voldemort, I'm really scared that something would happen to one of us." She was shaking and her eyes were teary. Ron didn't know what to do. It was unusual to have Hermione lose her self-control, she was the one Harry and him could always rely on to know what to do in tough situations. 

Ron felt awkward. He usually used either sarcasm or humour to lighten the atmosphere but he sensed that it was serious this time, so he just leaned toward her and took her in his arms to comfort her. 

During ten perfect seconds, it seemed that everything was in its place. But the charm broke, Hermione realized where she was and pulled away. 

"I should go upstairs now, Lavender and Parvati will wonder where I am, I'm supposed to join them in their room to study something," she said, without looking him in the eyes. 

"Goodnight, Ron." 

"Goodnight, Hermione." 

And she was gone. 

"Oh, Hermione…" said Ron watching her leave and, with a sigh, he went upstairs to his room. 

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Harry was looking out the window when Ron came up. Ron knew that his friend was waiting for him because Harry turned his head and left the window. 

"We need to talk," they said in unison. 

"Something is wrong?", Ron and Harry said again at the same time, an eyebrow up. 

They both laughed. It was good to be together again, though at that moment both of them had the feeling that they'd never got separated during the summer. Harry watched his friend and said with some amusement, "It's Hermione, isn't it?" Ron nodded silently. Harry giggled. 

"Hey! Not a word on the topic, man, or I curse you." 

"I thought you wanted to talk about that." 

"Well, after the compassion that you just showed, I've changed my mind." 

"Come on, Ron. Please, get over yourself. That little dance between the two of you has lasted long enough, don't you think?" 

"Thanks, Harry," Ron replied sarcastically, "but I don't think it's up to me. And you know how it all started? It started the day I took your advice and my evil sister's and told her how I felt about her. I remember all the vicious words that came out of your evil mouths." He took a high-pitched voice, and mimicked Harry. "Oh, Ron, I swear, she feels the same as you. Oh, Ron, be a man and tell her, for Merlin's sake. Oh, Ron, blah blah blah…" He took his normal voice back, "See? It's all your fault." 

"And I _maintain _that we were right, Ginny and I. SHE likes YOU." 

"She never said or acted so. She told me herself that "...she didn't consider me in her life as anything other than her best friend," she didn't consider me in her life otherwise than her best friend[.]", Ron replied with a blank expression on his face. Harry knew him too well and felt his sadness under the mask, so he voluntarily changed the subject. i suggest that Ron reply with: 

"Did you notice who was missing at the Slytherin table today?" Ron looked at him. He nodded. 

"Draco Malfoy." 

"Yeah." 

"I guess his father finally had the last word and forced him to leave Hogwarts.

"Well it's not like it was one of your friends that left…" 

Harry nodded. He and Draco had always been considered enemies. And it was probably true because they hadn't been friends. But to Harry, all those enemies things had become childish when he had found out what a real enemy was. 

A real enemy wouldn't insult and fight with you. 

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(Support Cedric Diggory –the REAL Hogwarts Champion!) 

(POTTER STINKS) 

A real enemy wouldn't challenge you and get the best out of you. 

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(Give it here, or I'll knock you off that broom) 

(Oh, yeah? Catch it if you can, then!) 

A real enemy would just kill you on the first opportunity. 

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( -Avada Kedavra!) 

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He was wondering where he was. The room was empty but very small and dark and a smell of brimstone was floating in the air. A mirror on the wall gave him the reflection of his face and the red of his hair looked pale in it. He opened the door and it lead to a long and dark hallway, which seemed to lead to another door. He could hear a voice whispering words that he couldn't understand, he had to come closer to the door. 

"I…need…you…" 

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The voice became clearer and clearer as he approached the door. He knew that there must be some danger beyond it but it was like his legs were moving automatically. He held the door handle and slowly opened the door… 

Suddenly a flash blinded him and when he opened his eyes again, he was at Hogwarts, in the Gryffindor common room. The Fat Lady wasn't in the painting anymore but was real. She was standing next to her usual place and was eating a piece of cake. She turned to him and said, "I told you to be careful. Now you are sleeping and people are crying." She turned away and didn't pay attention to him anymore. He left the corner of the room to reach the stairs. 

"Ron, where is my key?", a familiar voice said. It was Hermione. 

"Don't you know where my key is ? I asked everyone and Professor McGonagall told me that you were the person who could help. I need that to pass the exam. Oh, and maybe it'll help me winning at chess…Harry needs that key too, to defeat Voldemort. You sure you have no idea where it is? Oh, too bad, then." She kept babbling but no words came out of her mouth, as if she had been cursed by the Mute Charm. 

"RON! WAKE UP!" Harry was shaking Ron's arm softly to wake him up. It was 9 a.m. and everyone was already in the Great Hall to have breakfast. 

"Wh..aaat?" Ron grumbled. "Gettaofhere and lemme sleep." 

"Come on, you'll miss the breakfast." 

"Hmm…weird dream… wannaknow the end…" 

Harry rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dude. But then, don't complain after missing all the good croissants." 

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He noticed Neville near some giant plants, so he walked toward him. Neville was dressed like Professor Sprout and didn't seem surprised to see him coming toward his plants. 

"Do you know that plants are like human beings and can die out of loneliness? There's no magic that can save one soul, except love." 

He wondered if Neville was still talking about his plants but those thought didn't last long because he saw Ginny entering the common room, and behind her, he could see a dozen men in armour. He recognized them instantly, those were giant copies of his chessmen. 

"Why do you look so surprised?" Ginny asked him. "It takes all the chessmen to form a chess board." 

All the people in the common room started to speak louder and louder and soon it became inaudible. He felt like his head was going to explode if he stayed here. He flew to the stairs to get up to his room but he went back to the small room where it all began. 

The brimstone odour was still strong, and this time he could hear someone breathing in the darkness of the room. 

"I…need… you…" 

Who was there? He came stepped forward to see who was hiding in the corner. 

"You…must…help me…" 

He almost reached the person when suddenly he got grabbed and thrown on the floor. 

"HELP ME! HELP ME! PLEASE HELP ME!…" A pair of familiar eyes were staring at him, desperately. Draco Malfoy. 

Ron woke up abruptly. He was sweating and breathing hard, shaking from head to toe. _That wasn't just a dream._

He still could hear Malfoy's obsessing whisper in his ear. He needed to find out what was going on. 


End file.
